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“I’m trying to be very calm and understanding, son.”Once, many moons ago, when his dearly departed wife Claudia had been heavy with child and nearing the day of her parturition, Lord John the Third had ridden to the cave of the Moon Goddess and lit three ceremonial candles as a sacrificial offering, just as tradition demanded.As he’d lit the first candle, he’d asked for health, praying to the Moon Goddess to bless him and his wife with a sturdy and bouncing heir to the Stilinski estate.As he’d lit the second candle, he’d asked for righteousness, praying that his heir would be firm but just in all areas of their life.As he’d lit the third candle, he’d asked for kindness, praying that his heir would be loving and caring regardless of another’s station.He’d known it was an unusual wish for the heir of a noble estate, of course, had known that his peers who’d made the trek before him had likely wished for strength, power, or prosperity to ensure their lineage would endure.John had still chosen kindness, though, partly because he’d suffered greatly under the hands of a cold and unforgiving father and would not have wished such a fate upon his worst enemy, and partly because he’d known deep in his heart that his gentle and beloved wife would not be able to bear the burden of a cruel child.For the longest time, John had been able to rest easy in the knowledge that he’d made the right choice.Now that said child was staring at him in righteous determination and wringing his hands rather nervously, John realized that he’d made a crucial mistake.Clearly, his son had grown up with a kind and altogether far too loving heart.Unfortunately, his brain most certainly left a lot to be desired.“Alright. Explain it to me again, but perhaps slower and with more enunciation, as I suddenly seem to have become hard of hearing or perhaps, I’m just getting a little slow in my old age.”John exhaled loudly, casting a quick glance at the blue sky outside the window and wondering – as he often did in these kind of situations – whether his beloved Claudia was watching in commiseration from above or whether she was laughing so hard it was making her celestial bed shake.Given that his wife had always had a wicked sense of humor most unbecoming of her station, John figured it was probably the latter.He sighed.Then, he cleared his throat.“Now. Son. How is it my fault, exactly, that you have recently sired a bastard with one of our kitchen servants?”Across the room, his son bristled.“His name is Derek, father! You should accustom yourself to using it, because you’re going to be hearing it a lot from henceforward!”He glared, putting his hands on his hips, and reminding John so much of his mother that it hurt.“Also, our child might have been sired out of wedlock, but I assure you it will most certainly be born in wedlock! Unless, of course, Derek won’t have me. But I do believe I have more than reason to hope!”“And blame him I would absolutely not if he showed you the door, son,” John said sharply, giving his only child a withering glare that he hoped impressed upon him just how outrageous the entire situation was.“After all, he had every reason to fear your actions would lead him to ruin and starvation in the gutter, while your fall for this transgression was always going to be very gently cushioned,” he continued, pinching the bridge of his nose, and taking a deep breath.He was going to remain calm and understanding.Even if only because Claudia would have very much minded if he throttled her beloved only chick and child.“Anyway. You seem to have missed my question, so allow me to rephrase. How exactly am I to blame for the fact that Derek, an unmarried Omega kitchen servant who has been in my employ but a year, is now apparently carrying the fruit of loins that should have been nowhere even near the servants’ quarters in the basement?”“Isn’t it quite obvious, father?” Stiles said sharply, flinching for a second as though he’d not only just remembered whom he was speaking to but was also recalling the exact amount of trouble he’d gotten himself into.Trouble.Ha.John was quite certain that the word trouble was not even nearly adequate enough to describe the recent developments as the Stilinski estate, but he was regretfully going to have to peruse the dictionaries at a later point.After all, he had rather more weighty concerns at the moment.Unbidden, John’s glance drifted to the pale man standing beside his son and zeroed in on the small bulge just starting to press against his apparently not-so-trusted kitchen servant’s rather ill-fitting clothes.Yes.Weighty concerns, indeed.“No, son. I’m afraid it is not obvious at all, so do be so kind as to elaborate. Preferably before I lose my tenuous grasp on my temper altogether, if you please.”Stiles huffed.Aggravatingly and petulantly so, as far as John was concerned.“Was it no you who taught me that another’s value was not dependent on the riches in their possession but the qualities of their heart? Was it not you who impressed upon me the importance of treating everyone with kindness and compassion? Was it not, in fact, you who entrusted me with the task of inspecting the house and ensuring that it was run to our fullest satisfaction? Clearly, the blame lies solely on your feet in regard to this matter!”“It appears as though I am, indeed, guilty of raising a man and not a monster, son,” John acknowledged, pinching the bridge of his nose again and sincerely wishing for a glass of his finest brandy to dull the throbbing headache that had been his constant companion ever since his son had reached maturity.“However, I very much do not recall the conversation in which I instructed you to selfishly seek your fullest satisfaction in the arms of a kitchen servant!”“Father! I most certainly did not merely seek my satisfaction in Derek’s arms!” Stiles exclaimed, flapping his own arms rather ridiculously and looking so horrified that John genuinely wondered if the kid was, in fact, as idiotic as the unmistakable curve of young Derek’s stomach strongly suggested.“It’s merely a figure of speech, son. Clearly, the outcome was going to be the same whether you sought out his arms or took him from behind,” John sighed, and his lips almost but not quite twitched into a fleeting imitation of a smile when Stiles let out a rather scandalized gasp.“I didn’t ... I wouldn’t ... I mean, I obviously did, but ... it wasn’t like ... it was all because of that damned drafty window, father!”“A drafty window.”John raised an eyebrow, hoping that his tone conveyed just how very, very done he was with this entire conversation. “Pray tell, for I am most curious – how exactly did you manage to sire a bastard through a drafty window?”“Not through, father! Good Lord, can you even imagine the kind of endowment one would have to possess in order to accomplish such a feat? Why, I imagine not even our finest stallion would have been able to-““STILES!” John barked, both to save his own sanity and protect his son from the complete combustion of his altogether unbefitting nuptial plans.He barely knew Derek Hale, of course, but the pinched look on the man’s face seemed to suggest he was most emphatically not enjoying the insinuation that he would have potentially laid with a horse.Well.If John remembered his dear wife’s time of gravidity correctly, Derek’s pinched look could, of course, also stem from the babe causing a troubling unrest in his stomach, but he wouldn’t have been willing to bet.“Drafty window. Elaborate!” he prompted, and Stiles huffed again, crossing his arms over his chest, and giving his father a glowering look.“Have you even been down to the servants’ quarters at any point during the last decade, father? It’s cold, damp, and altogether most hazardous for one’s health, if I do say so myself! Especially if the windows are drafty, which just so happened to be the case in the little chamber that had been assigned to Derek, Erica, and Isaac!”“Erica. Isaac,” John said flatly, trying to quell down the horrifying idea suddenly pounding alongside his throbbing headache and giving his son a pleading look.“Son? Please tell me that drafty window didn’t magically leave even more of our employees pregnant with your child, or so help me Moon Goddess, I will borrow Mr. Finstock’s gardening shears and I’ll personally see to it that-““What?” Stiles meeped, his eyes wide and horrified as he shared a scandalized look with Derek and then gaped at his father once more.“How can you even suggest that my eyes would ever stray? Do you think so little of my character, father? I love Derek! I would never betray him!”John sighed, rubbing a hand across his face, and allowing himself a second of relief before glaring at his son again.“I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, son, but your recent actions have most certainly brought your character into question. You have been keeping secrets, you have lied, and you have lain with a servant who had no power to stop you from doing so, even if he’d wanted to. Forgive me, but none of these occurrences speak highly towards your character, Stiles.”“I wanted him!”Derek paled even further and took a step back, one hand pressed against his stomach and the other against his mouth as if he could somehow shove the words right back where they’d come from.His eyes were defiant, though, piercing hazel meeting skeptical blue as though to challenge John to even so much as hint that Stiles could have wronged him so severely.John had to hand it to him.He was still fully and righteously angry, but he was also starting to appreciate the young man.“He never forced me into anything, Sir! I wanted him. Just as much then as I do now! I knew it was wrong, Sir, but I just ... I couldn’t stop myself.”“And neither could I, father!”Stiles had taken a step forward and was now partially shielding Derek, his hands twitching at his sides as though he wanted to touch but was barely holding off.“I tried with all my might, I swear on Mother’s grave, but once I knew my feelings were so ardently returned, there was no way for me to –“He shrugged, clearing his throat, and shooting Derek an adoring glance.“I love him, father! I understand that you do not approve, but I hope you, too, understand that for once I cannot elevate the importance of your approval above my own happiness! Hate me, if you must! Hell, cast me out and throw away the key, but I would rather live in the gutter than abandon the only man I’ve ev-““As much as I enjoy listening to you paint me as a heartless monster, may I please interrupt your dramatics and remind you that there is still the matter of the drafty window to be discussed? I fear I cannot concoct a truly cruel and inhumane punishment without having been enlightened as to how, exactly, the conditions of my estate have resulted in young Derek carrying your child,” John said sharply, glaring at his offspring and smiling grimly when Stiles flinched and shot him a chagrined look.“Uhm – I was getting to that, actually,” Stiles assured him, finally losing his nerves and reaching blindly behind him to grasp Derek’s hand in what John assumed was a plea for strength and comfort.It was ... unbefittingly endearing.John sighed.Loudly.“By all means, do start getting to it, son. Otherwise, I fear young Derek shall birth my sinfully begotten grandchild on this very marble floor before you finally get around to explaining the mystery of the drafty window and its magical powers of fecundity.”“Must I truly spell it out, father? Is it not painfully obvious?”Stiles grimaced, and for a moment John seriously considered granting him this very small mercy.It was, indeed, rather painfully obvious.Still.John Stilinski believed in holding people accountable for their choices and he figured that making his delinquent horndog of a son squirm was a small price to pay for besmirching the noble Stilinski line.“Son? I am not getting any younger, here.”“I wanted to warm him up, alright?”For all his usual bravado, Stiles had turned as red as an overripe tomato, his eyes not quite meeting John’s and as he held onto Derek for dear life.The pregnant Omega looked just as eager to sink into the floor in mortification as the sire of his unborn child.They were rather well matched that way, John couldn’t help but note with a small smile.“I just snuck down there to bring him an extra blanket because he’d been complaining about that horrid window, but then I walked inside and saw him literally shivering so hard it was making the bed creak! How could I have just let him freeze like that?! I just meant to warm him up, father! I’m still not entirely sure what happened, but things ended up getting a little more – uh – heated than I had been intending.”Stiles shrugged, as though to say ‘what can you do, eh?’ and Derek looked ready to not only sink through the floor but also move to Antarctica while he was at it.“Truth be told, it is quite a miracle that I was able to resist for so long, father! Close to a year, I might add! If I may be so frank, given the uncontrollable desires unleashed within me in the aftermath of our first kiss all those moons ago, it is altogether rather admirable that I managed to hold off for so long to make my beloved’s belly swell with my child!”“Indeed, you may not be so frank, but I fear your various desires do not include taking my fatherly sensibilities into consideration, son,” John groaned, wiping a hand across his eyes, and asking himself just how much of a fool he’d been.He should have seen it months ago.He was also going to spend the next couple of months trying to understand how he hadn’t.Across the room, Stiles was at least gracious enough to look slightly apologetic.It was little more than a smidgeon of regret, really, but John was willing to take what he could get.“My intentions were pure, father,” he insisted, turning towards Derek, and giving him a lopsided little smile before reaching out a hesitant hand and placing it on the little curve of his belly.“Granted, the execution of said intentions lost some of that purity along the way, but even though I’ve tried very hard to regret my actions that night, I cannot seem to feel anything but joy as of late.”He turned his head towards John, his hand never leaving Derek’s stomach as he cleared his throat and gave his father a hard look.“I understand what I am asking of you, father. If you cannot find it within your heart to grant us your blessing, I will not protest if you decide to relieve me of my title and set out to find an heir more worthy of this estate.”He smiled softly, looking back at Derek, and gently cradling his cheek with an adoring look.“There are no titles, riches, or comforts that would be worth losing the man I love, father. Nor would I ever willingly part with our child, whom I already love with all my heart. I have made my choice. I am not asking you to accept it, but I can promise you that I will accept yours.”For a long moment, John didn’t say anything, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully as he watched Stiles’ thumb stroke gently across Derek’s cheek, taking in the way the Omega was subconsciously leaning towards him with his entire body and remembering a time when he, too, had stroked a pregnant Omega’s cheek with such ardent affection.In the end, the choice was not all that difficult to make.“Derek.”The young Omega flinched, his eyes shooting towards John as he swallowed nervously, and John sighed, holding up his hand and giving him a thoughtful look.“Please. Do not look so anxious on account of me. It won’t do the babe inside you any good and it will most certainly not help you either,” he said, flashing him a tight-lipped smile and humming thoughtfully.“I’m going to have to ask you something, though, and I would like you to think it over carefully before you answer,” he continued, taking a couple of steps forward so he could see Derek’s face clearly.“Your Alpha was born into nobility, which means that by marrying him you, too, will have to enter a society that will most likely never see you as anything other than a harlot who spread his legs and enticed a young fool into a scandalous union far beneath his station. They might, in time, forgive him. However, I’m afraid they’ll never forgive you,” he said, holding up a warning hand when Stiles looked like he wanted to protest.“My money and influence will ensure that no one will dare to challenge Stiles’ title, and I promise you that I will do everything in my power to shield this child and the ones yet to be conceived from the fallout of their parents’ choices,” he continued, watching wistfully as Derek’s hand immediately flew to his abdomen as though he’d never even considered that his child might need protection.“Unfortunately, I’m neither powerful nor rich enough to spare you from the glances and the taunts that will be whispered just loud enough for you to hear.”He sighed heavily, giving the two young men a regretful look.“You two might think that the worst is over, but I’m afraid your struggles have only just begun. Are you really, truly ready for all that this union will bring?”Derek held his gaze calmly for a long moment, his face pale but his gaze determined as he ran a soft hand across his stomach and then reached out for Stiles once more.“Above all else, this union has already brought me tremendous joy, Sir. I shall draw strength from this joy throughout all the struggles to come,” he finally decided, looking at Stiles with such affection and wonder that John was almost tempted to shed a fatherly tear.Well.Almost.“In that case, I guess there is only one thing left to ask. Or perhaps, you might consider it a trade,” he said, taking another step forward and hesitating just a fraction of a second before he clasped Stiles’ shoulder with one hand and gently grasped Derek’s shoulder with the other.“If you stop calling me Sir, I might just start calling you son.”